IV of Hungary's charter, dated 1224. The Middle Ages and Modern Era saw the city being an important fortress in the Military Frontier. The Ottoman Empire's influence remains dominant until the territorial gains by Austria-Hungary. Next to its defending role, the city saw development of crafts and trade. The education and culture were strongly dominated by the Franciscans. The 20th century was a period of strong economic growth of the city, with the 1920s being called "the Golden Age of Brod". The city's current name dates from 1934 when it was changed from Brod na Savi.
From 1941 to 1945 the city was part of the Independent State of Croatia. The town was heavily bombed by the Allies in 1944 and 1945. The bombing resulted in damage to 80% of the buildings in Slavonski Brod. The bombing resulted in 897 civilian deaths, 244 military deaths, 208 wounded civilians, and 28 military wounded in Slavonski Brod and Bosanski Brod. In the communist Yugoslav era, the list of victims was manipulated, with only 11 people being declared as dying from aerial bombing in the 1964 census.
In 1990, democratic reforms legalized the forming of political parties, other than the League of Communists of Croatia. In Slavonski Brod, the first parties formed were the Croatian Democratic Union and the Croatian Democratic Party
